Some city officials say they want to see more work done before signing off on a key piece of the Danville-Boyle County Planning and Zoning Commission's five-year comprehensive plan. Danville City Commission voted 3-2 last week against approval of P&Z’s goals and objectives when the group’s director Paula Bary presented them to the commission.
Bary acknowledged the only significant changes made to the goals and objectives since the last version were the dates and removal of references to Junction City, which has dropped out of P&Z. Bary said there was a public hearing on the document July 3 — attended by Mayor Bernie Hunstad, one of the “no” votes — where the public had the opportunity to offer input.
The goals and objectives were approved by Boyle County Fiscal Court and were scheduled to go before the Perryville City Council Sept. 6. However, Bary said they would need to go back to all of the legislative bodies if they are changed by Danville.
Bary said the rest of the comprehensive planning process, which is being handled in house, can’t move forward until the goals and objectives are approved.
Hunstad was joined by commissioners Gail Louis and Ryan Montgomery in voting against the goals and objectives, while commissioners Kevin Caudill and J.H. Atkins voted for the proposal. Hunstad, who said Monday the commission hadn't received the entire document until the day of the commission meeting, takes issue with the lack of change, especially with regard to future economic development.
“When you look at the actual documents themselves, I don't think we are coming off a very good plan,” Hunstad said.
Hunstad has said he wants to hold one or two workshops to get public feedback before the city makes recommendations on the document. He said issues that need to be dealt with, like traffic, are addressed, but there is “no meat” to those portions of the planning documents.
Hunstad said the reputation of P&Z and Danville overall as not being business friendly should be considered when revamping the plan.
Although he anticipates push-back from critics who likely don't approve of his efforts to add input to an established board's process, Hunstad said elected officials should step in when needed.
“I know it’s going to be a battle, but this is something where we need to pull together as a group,” Hunstad said. “People who are interested in improving the community need to leave the politics and leave the chips on their shoulders at the door and come in ready to contribute something.”
The goals and objectives are the first step in establishing a comprehensive plan for community development, something required by Kentucky Planning and Zoning statutes every five years. The document addresses the issues of general land development, economic development, the environment, historic preservation, housing, community facilities, land use and transportation.
An example of one of the more general goals is providing “an adequate supply of decent, safe and sanitary housing for citizens of all income levels.” Objectives related to that goal include encouraging efforts to build and maintain affordable housing for the elderly, handicapped and low income individuals; encouraging rehabilitation of substandard housing through redevelopment and housing codes; offering sufficient land zoned for residential use; and discouraging residential sprawl.
